Cooling device for electronic unit

ABSTRACT

An electronic unit cooling device for housing an electronic unit having a plurality of electronic parts and for cooling the electronic unit with the cooling air which is introduced from the outside and discharged to the outside. The cooling device comprises: a cooling panel of a hollow structure adapted to contacted by at least one electronic unit for passing the cooling air therethrough; and a housing the cooling panel and the electronic unit and having an opening the cooling air to the cooling panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/166,686 filed on Jun. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,757,168 and inturn claims priority to JP 2001-179199 filed on Jun. 13, 2001, JP2001-234124 filed on Aug. 1, 2001, and JP 2001-306381 filed on Oct. 2,2001, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for cooling an electronic unitconstructed by combining electronic parts such as arithmetic elements orfunctional elements and, more particularly, to a device for cooling anelectronic unit by passing the cooling air through a passage of a sealedstructure and by releasing the heat from the electronic unit to thecooling air.

2. Related Art

In recent years, the electronic device has been used in various fields,and the degree of integration and the operating frequency of electronicparts composing the electronic device have risen higher and higher.Therefore, the calorific density has risen so that the electronic partshave taken high temperatures easily. In order to avoid malfunctionsresulting from the temperature rise, there has been needed a coolingdevice having a higher capacity.

The air-cooling method for releasing the heat to the atmosphere is themost common for cooling the electronic device or electronic parts. Thisair-cooling method has been exemplified in the prior art by the forcedair-cooling, in which the heat is evolved from the electronic parts byusing a cooling fan to establish a cooling wind, or by the so-called“natural cooling”, in which the heat is evolved from the electronicparts by a cooling wind caused by the natural convection.

When the electronic parts are to be air-cooled, the efficiency of thisair-cooling can be raised if the electronic parts are exposed directlyto the cooling air, because of a high heat transfer rate from theelectronic parts to the cooling air. In order to prevent the electronicparts from being contaminated with dust or the like or the circuits frombeing shorted, however, the cooling air has to be cleaned in advance byfiltering it when the electronic parts are contacted directly by thecooling air.

Generally in the prior art, on the other hand, there is mounted on thevehicle an electronic control unit (as will be called the “electronicunit”) for controlling the engine or the like. This electronic unitgenerates heat when activated, so that the hot electronic unit isnaturally cooled or forcedly cooled with an air-cooling device.

In the prior art, the electronic unit has been arranged inside of thevehicle. In recent years, however, there has been adopted theconstruction in which the electronic unit is arranged in the engineroom.

When the engine controlling electronic unit is arranged inside, forexample, electric wires (or a wire harness) for connecting the engineand the electronic unit have to be led in the engine room so that theyare elongated. At the same time, the electric wires have to pass througha hole formed in the body panel partitioning the vehicle compartment andthe engine room so that the works are troublesome to cause a rise in thecost.

If the electronic unit is arranged in the engine room, on the otherhand, the through hole need not be formed in the body panel, and it ispossible to shorten the length of the wires and to reduce the weight ofand the cost for the concomitant parts. At the step of mounting theengine on the vehicle, moreover, the works to lead the electric wirescan be simplified, and the electric wires can be prevented from beingdamaged or broken. In addition, the leading works are simplified toimprove the maintainability and serviceability advantageously.

However, the engine room is in a hot atmosphere because the heatgenerated by the run of the engine is dissipated into the air of theroom. In order to suppress the transfer of the heat in the engine roomto the electronic unit, therefore, it is essential to arrange theelectronic unit in the engine room while being confined in a housingbox. Moreover, this housing box for housing the electronic unit isrequired to have not only the heat insulation and the cooling propertybut also the dust-proof and the water-proof sufficiently.

Especially, the electronic unit is intrinsically composed of theelectronic parts which premise the use at the room temperature.Therefore, the electronic unit is warranted for its action when theambient temperature around the electronic unit is at 80° C. or lower andwhen the temperature of the electronic elements in the electronic unitis at 105° C. or lower. For this warranty, there is needed not only theinsulating function of the housing box but also the cooling function tosuppress the temperature rise of the electronic unit.

This device for air-cooling the electronic unit is disclosed in JapanesePatent Laid-Open No. 9-207691. The cooling device disclosed isconstructed such that an electronic unit composed of electronic parts isso housed in a cooling box having a cooling air passage defined andformed as to adjoin the passage. The electronic device is cooled bypassing the cooling air through the passage. According to thisconstruction, the electronic unit composed of the electronic parts orelectronic circuits is not contacted directly by the cooling air so thatthe cooling device can be properly used even in case the electronic unitof the electronic parts is placed under relatively severe environmentalconditions.

However, the so-called “inner two or three faces” of the cooling boxconstructing the cooling air passage are left as heat receiving faces sothat the air-cooling device can cool only one electronic unitsimultaneously.

In case the housing box of the aforementioned construction is modifiedto house two or more electronic units, on the other hand, the passageconstruction for the cooling air is so complicated that it cannot retaina sufficient cooling ability. Therefore, the temperature in the housingbox may rise to cause malfunctions of the electronic units.

In this case, more specifically, these two electronic units occupy thehousing capacity of the inside of the housing box at a high ratio.Therefore, it is difficult to retain a sufficient cooling passage forthe electronic units with the resultant disadvantage that the coolingpassage is short of cooling the electronic units.

If the cooling passage is enlarged or intensified to retain thesufficient cooling ability, therefore, the housing box itself islarge-sized to cause another disadvantage that the place for the housingbox is restricted.

In the housing box having the aforementioned cooling structure,moreover, the passage for passing the cooling air is arranged around theelectronic unit. Therefore, the space is arranged to enclose theelectronic unit so that the housing box itself is large-sized to occupya relatively large volume of the engine room. Especially in the passageof the cooling air, the side walls of the passage act as the outer wallsof the housing box or are contacted by or positioned near the outerwalls, so that the cooling air to pass through this passage is seriouslyinfluenced by the heat transferred from the outside to the outer wallsof the housing box. For reducing this influence and retaining thesufficient cooling ability, therefore, it is necessary to increase theflow rate of the cooling air and to retain a large internal volume ofthe passage. This necessity causes a tendency to enlarge the passage.

When the engine room has little surplus space for the arrangement,therefore, the enlarged housing box interferes with other parts therebyto cause a disadvantage that the works to assemble the parts aredifficult.

Depending on the arrangement of the housing box, moreover, theventilation of the wind of the radiator fan or the running wind may dropso that the cooling efficiency of the engine is insufficient. Therefore,the engine performance may be restricted, and the ability of the enginemay not be fulfilled.

In the structure disclosed in the above-specified Laid-Open, moreover,the cooling box is opened upward, and the electronic unit of the sealedstructure is arranged in the cooling box. Therefore, that portion on theupper side of the electronic unit, at which the temperature easily rise,is located on the open side of the cooling box so that it fails toreceive the cooling through the cooling box. Moreover, the cooling airis fed from an intermediate position of one side portion of the coolingbox placed in an upright position and is discharged from an intermediateposition of the other side portion. Therefore, a falling flow and arising flow of the cooling air are established in the cooling box sothat the flow of the cooling air is hardly fulfilled by the naturalconvection. As a result, there is still left a room for improvement inthe cooling efficiency.

In the disclosed construction, moreover, the portion of the cooling boxon the upper side of an inlet and an outlet for the cooling air is leftas the so-called “dead zone”, through which no cooling air passes, sothat the electronic unit of the sealed structure has its substantialheat radiation area narrowed. There is also left a room for improvementin the cooling ability or the cooling efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide an electronic unit coolingdevice which has an excellent cooling ability or efficiency and whichcan be small-sized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a an electronic unithousing box which is excellent in the cooling ability and which is madecompact.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an electronic unitcooling device and an electronic unit housing box, which can be madecompact while retaining a sufficient cooling ability even when theyhouse a plurality of electronic units.

In the cooling device of the invention, the electronic unit forgenerating heat when activated is held in contact with a cooling panel,through which the cooling air passes. Therefore, the heat generated inthe electronic unit is taken by the cooling air flowing through theinside of the cooling panel, so that the electronic unit is cooled down.Moreover, the cooling panel is provided with a plurality of heatreceiving faces so that a plurality of electronic units can besimultaneously cooled down. Moreover, the individual electronic unitsare kept away from contact with the cooling air so that they are notdisadvantageously contaminated.

By forming a passage in the cooling panel with a partition, on the otherhand, the portion insufficient for the ventilation of the cooling air,that is, the so-called “hot spot” is eliminated to improve the coolingefficiency of the electronic unit.

If a plurality of electronic units are contacted at their individualupper faces by the cooling panel, moreover, the heat is released fromthe portions of the electronic units, in which the temperature easilyrises, so that the cooling efficiency can be improved to prevent thetemperature rise in the electronic units effectively.

In the cooling device of the invention, still moreover, the coolingpanel and the electronic unit can be held in a stacked state so that theentire construction of the device can be made compact.

In this construction, the entire insides of the cooling panels dividedvertically are made into one passage by connecting the verticallydivided cooling panels through a communication passage. Therefore, nohot spot can be formed to cool down the individual electronic unitsefficiently.

In the invention, on the other hand, the housing box for shielding theelectronic unit from the outside and the cooling panel for releasing theheat from the electronic unit are made as separate parts so that thedegree of freedom for the design can be improved. Moreover, the coolingair to flow through the inside of the cooling panel is hardly subjectedto the influence of the heat outside of the housing box, so that thecooling efficiency of the electronic unit is improved.

Moreover, an inlet and an outlet for feeding and exhausting the coolingair to and from the cooling panel extend through the housing box, andtheir through portions are sealed with a seal member. Even if theelectronic unit is arranged in the engine room of an automobile,therefore, it can be prevented from being contaminated or thermallyinfluenced by the outside.

The piping for the cooling air is facilitated by arranging those inletand outlet adjacent to each other and by protruding them from thehousing box.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention willmore fully appear from the following detailed description when the sameis read with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one specific embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the specific embodiment shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an essential portion showingthe entire construction of another specific embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4A is a front elevation of a housing box of the specificembodiment, and FIG. 4B is a front elevation showing the state in whichthe housing box is disassembled;

FIG. 5A is a lefthand side elevation of the housing box, and FIG. 5B isa lefthand side elevation showing the state in which the housing box isdisassembled;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the housing box;

FIG. 7A is a sectional top plan view showing the flow of cooling air ofthe case in which the housing box is provided with a partition, and FIG.7B is a sectional top plan view showing the flow of cooling air of thecase in which the housing box is not provided with a partition;

FIG. 8A is an enlarged transverse section of a joint portion between abox body and an upper cover member of the specific embodiment, and FIG.8B is a partially broken enlarged perspective view showing of the jointportion;

FIG. 9A is a longitudinal section schematically showing a constructionof still another specific embodiment of the invention, in which coolingpanels are connected in tandem, and FIG. 9B is a longitudinal sectionschematically showing a construction, in which cooling panels areconnected in parallel;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing an essential portion ofthe entire construction of a further specific embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 11 is a front elevation showing the state in which the specificembodiment is disassembled;

FIG. 12 is a lefthand side elevation showing the state in which thespecific embodiment is disassembled;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view showing the specific embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the entire construction of acooling panel, on which electronic units are mounted, of the specificembodiment;

FIG. 15A is a top plan view of the cooling panel, on which theelectronic units are mounted, of the specific embodiment, FIG. 15B is afront elevation of the same, and FIG. 15C is a lefthand side elevationof the same;

FIG. 16A is a righthand side elevation showing the cooling panel, onwhich the electronic units are mounted, of the specific embodiment, andFIG. 16B is a bottom view of the same;

FIG. 17 is a sectional top plan view showing the flow of cooling air ina lower hollow body in the cooling panel of the specific embodiment;

FIG. 18A is a sectional top plan view showing the flow of cooling air ofthe case in which the upper hollow body of the cooling unit of thespecific embodiment is provided with a partition, and FIG. 18B is asectional top plan view showing the flow of cooling air of the casehaving no partition;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view schematically showing the flow of coolingair in the cooling panel of the specific embodiment; and

FIG. 20 is a transverse sectional view showing the construction of ajoint portion between an outer box body and an outer box cover of thespecific embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments of the invention will be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodimentof a construction for cooling an electronic unit arranged in the engineroom of a vehicle. On the other hand, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectionof the device shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the whole device ishoused in an outer box. This outer box body 1 is formed into arectangular parallelepiped having a generally square bottom face, and afirst electronic unit 2 is housed in the outer box body 1. This firstelectronic unit 2 is constructed mainly of parts for generating heatinevitably when energized to act, such as integrated circuits or powertransistors.

Over the first electronic unit 2, there is arranged a cooling panel 3which has a cooling air passage of a sealed structure defined and formedby a partition. This cooling panel 3 is a hollow member made of a metalor synthetic resin having an excellent heat conductivity, and has astructure in which flat plate portions arranged in parallel are made tocommunicate with each other at their side end portions. This coolingpanel 3 is contacted at its bottom face in a heat transferable manner bythe upper face of the first electronic unit 2. Therefore, the bottomface of the cooling panel 3 provides a first heat receiving face 4.

Between the upper side flat plate portion and the lower side flat plateportion, as contacted by the first electronic unit 2, of the coolingpanel 3, there is inserted into and sandwiched a second electronic unit6 which generates a heat when energized to act. Moreover, the upper faceof this second electronic unit 6 is contacted in a heat transferablemanner by the lower face of the upper side flat plate portion.Therefore, the lower face of the upper side flat plate portion providesa second heat receiving face 5.

The outer box body 1 is covered with an outer box cover 7 such that theindividual electronic units 2 and 6 and the cooling panel 3 thuslaminated in the so-called “three-layered structure”.

In the cooling panel 3, a cooling air inlet 8 is formed in the leadingend portion of the lower side flat plate portion, and a cooling airoutlet 9 is formed in the leading end portion of the upper side flatplate portion. In other words, the inlet 8 and the outlet 9 are formedin those end portions of the individual flat plate portions that areopposed to a communication portion 10 joining the flat plate portions.Here, these inlet 8 and outlet 9 are opened to the outside of the outerbox which is constructed of the outer box body 1 and the outer box cover7.

In the cooling device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper face of thefirst electronic unit 2 is contacted by the first heat receiving face 4,and the second electronic unit 6 is contacted by the second heatreceiving face 5, so that the heats generated by the actions of thoseelectronic units 2 and 6 are transferred to the heat receiving faces 4and 5, respectively. On the other hand, the ambient air, i.e., thecooling air is fed from the inlet 8. The cooling air flows at firstthrough the lower side flat plate portion so that it absorbs the heatfrom the lower face of the flat plate portion, i.e., the first heatreceiving face 4. As a result, the first electronic unit 2 is indirectlyair-cooled. Then, the first electronic unit 2 has its heat absorbed fromits upper face so that it is efficiently cooled down.

The cooling air having its temperature raised to some extent byabsorbing the heat from the first electronic unit 2 is caused to flowthrough the communication portion 10 to the upper side flat plateportion by the natural convection and further to flow in the upper sideflat plate portion to the outlet 9. In this meanwhile, the cooling airflows in contact with the lower face of the upper side flat plateportion, i.e., the second heat receiving face 5 thereby to absorb theheat therefrom. As a result, the second electronic unit 6 contacted bythe second heat receiving face 5 is indirectly air-cooled. Then, thesecond electronic unit 6 has its heat absorbed from its upper face sothat it is efficiently cooled down.

Thus, in the cooling device according to the invention, the cooling airflows only in the cooling panel 3, i.e., inside of the cooling airpassage but is not directly contacted by the electronic units 2 and 6 sothat these electronic units 2 and 6 are not adversely affected orcontaminated with the cooling air. Therefore, restrictions on the placesfor the electronic units 2 and 6 can be eliminated or lightened.

On the other hand, the cooling device can cool the two electronic units2 and 6 simultaneously, and these cooling operations are efficientbecause the heat is absorbed from the individual upper faces of theelectronic units 2 and 6. Moreover, these electronic units 2 and 6 canbe arranged by stacking them so that the entire construction includingthe cooling panel 3 can be made compact. Still moreover, the cooling airis fed from the inlet 8 to the inside of the lower side flat plateportion. After this, the cooling air flows through the communicationportion 10 to the upper side flat plate portion, from which it isdischarged to the outlet 9, so that the air flow direction is turnedupward. As a result, the cooling air passage takes a shape along theflow so that the cooling air flow can be smoothed to improve the coolingefficiency in this respect.

Here, each of the flat plate portions can be provided therein with apartition (or baffle). With this construction, the cooling air can bemade turbulent in the individual flat plate portions, i.e., on theindividual heat receiving faces 4 and 5. As a result, the rates of heattransfer of the cooling air to the individual heat receiving faces 4 and5 can be improved to cool down the individual electronic units 2 and 6more efficiently.

On the other hand, the sectional shape of the cooling panel 3 in theinvention should not be limited to the aforementioned one but can bemodified into a suitable one, if necessary.

Here will be described another specific embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the individual portionsof the main construction of the housing box 21 of the invention. FIG. 4Ais a front elevation of the same, and FIG. 4B is an exploded frontelevation of the individual portions of the same. Moreover, FIG. 5A is alefthand side elevation of the same, and FIG. 5B is an exploded lefthandside elevation of the individual portions of the same. FIG. 6 is a topplan view of the same. In the shown embodiment, an electronic unit 23housing an electronic device composed of electronic parts in the case ishoused in a housing box 21 having water-proof, dust-proof,heat-resisting and cooling functions. Here, the housing box 21 of theelectronic unit 23 will be described on the embodiment which is appliedto a vehicle by arranging the housing box 21 in the engine room.Moreover, the electronic device of this embodiment will be exemplifiedby a control unit, i.e., an important part for controlling the(not-shown) engine or the (not-shown) transmission unit electronically.

This electronic device (although not shown) is basically constructed bymounting the various (not-shown) electric parts or (not-shown)electronic parts in a predetermined manner on the (not-shown) circuitsubstrate which is printed with wiring patterns of the circuit, and isso housed in the case as to retaining the protections of thoseelectric/electronic parts against electromagnetic waves, shocks or heatradiations.

These electric parts or electronic parts generate heats inevitably whenenergized to act, and temperature ranges are defined for warranting therated actions of those parts. As the temperature in the case includingthe parts rises to or over the action warranting temperature of theindividual parts although different according to the action situationsof the electronic device, therefore, the electric circuit actions maymalfunction or may invite malfunctions or troubles of the parts.

Here, the electronic unit 23 is provided at a predetermined position ofits side face with the (not-shown) connector which is connected with theinput/output lines of the electronic device in the electronic unit 23.This electronic unit 23 is electrically connected with the externalvarious devices through the (not-shown) wire harness in which wires tobe connected with that connector are bundled.

By this wire harness, more specifically, the electronic unit 23 isconnected with: the (not-shown) battery or power source so that it isfed with the operating current; the output lines of the (not-shown)various sensors at predetermined positions so that it is fed with sensorsignals; the (not-shown) various input devices so that it is fed withthe various indication signals; the (not-shown) various actuators sothat it outputs command signals; and the (not-shown) display device andthe (not-shown) alarm device so that it outputs the display and alarmsignals.

On the basis of these sensor signals and indication signals, moreover,the electronic device makes predetermined decisions and uses the variousactuators to realize the controls according to the decisions. On theother hand, the electronic device uses the display device and the alarmdevice to display and inform the pieces of information obtained from thevarious sensors and the operating situations of the individual devices,and to warm the malfunction.

This electronic unit 23 is housed in the housing box 21 with its facehaving the highest heat radiation being directed upward.

In this embodiment, the electronic unit 23 is formed into a flat boxshape and is housed in the housing box 21 with its face of the largestsurface area being vertically directed. Therefore, the height occupiedin the housing box 21 by the electronic unit 23 is the smallest.

The face of the electronic unit 23 having the highest heat radiation isdetermined in the following manner. For the individual faces composingthe case outer faces of the electronic unit 23, to which the heatgenerated by the action thereof is transferred, the average temperaturesand the surfaces areas of the faces are multiplied, and the face havingthe largest one of the products of the individual faces is selected asthe face having the highest heat radiation.

Moreover, what face has the highest heat radiation depends more or lesson the position of the electronic unit 23 itself and the kind and theoperating frequency of the electronic parts in the electronic unit 23.However, the construction, in which the electric/electronic parts aremounted on the circuit substrate, is the mainstream, as has beendescribed hereinbefore, so that the numerous parts are arranged on aplane. Therefore, the case face to be selected confronts the substrateface, on which those parts are arranged, and has the largest surfacearea.

Thus, the electric/electronic parts of the electronic unit 23 arepreferably arranged to transfer their operating heats positively to thatface of the case of the electronic unit 23 which has the largest surfacearea. Moreover, the arrangement of the parts is desired to have notemperature heterogeneity but a substantially homogeneous temperaturedistribution on that face. In this case, the heat exchange with alater-described cooling panel 25, to which the working heat istransferred from that face, and the later heat exchange between thecooling panel 25 and the cooling air are not heterogeneous but can beefficient to minimize the thermal load and fatigue thereby to improvethe durabilities of the parts.

Moreover, the housing box 21 is constructed to include: the coolingpanel 25, on which the electronic unit 23 is removably mounted; an outerbox body 26 for housing the cooling panel 25 therein; and an upper covermember 27. The ducts outside of the housing box 21 can be connected tothe cooling panel 25, and the wires can be connected with the electronicunit 23. Specifically, the housing box 21 houses not only at least oneelectronic unit 23 with the face of much heat radiation being directedupward but also the cooling panel 25 which is either confronted by atleast the upper face of the electronic unit 23 through a clearance or iscontacted by that upper face and which is formed into the hollow shapefor passing the cooling air therethrough.

Here, at least the box body 26 and the upper cover member 27 are made ofa synthetic resin having an excellent heat conductivity such aspolypropylene or polyamide to lighten the weight and lower the cost andto retain the heat resistance sufficiently for the place such as theengine room where a high heat source is disposed.

Specifically, this box body 26 is formed into the box shape which isopened upward and its inner shape has a predetermined size similar tothat of the outer shape of the electronic unit 23. The box body 26 isset to have a height larger by a predetermined height than the sum ofthe heights of the electronic unit 23 and the cooling panel 25 so thatit can house the electronic unit 23 and the cooling panel 25 in stack.In that side face of the box body 26 which is confronted by the(not-shown) connector of the electronic unit 23, moreover, there isformed an opening 26A which has a circular open shape, so that it canmount a grommet type seal member 24 for the (not-shown) wire harness tobe connected to that connector.

Specifically, the seal member 24 is constructed to include: aring-shaped root portion to be fitted in the opening 26A; and apipe-shaped leading end portion joined to the root portion through aconical intermediate portion. The wire harness can be held by thepipe-shaped leading portion. Moreover, these individual portions of theseal member 24 are integrally formed of an elastically deformablematerial such as rubber having an insulation and a flexibility.

When the electronic unit 23 housed in the housing box 21 is to beelectrically connected with the external device through the wireharness, therefore, the seal member 24 for the wire harness isinterposed between the wire harness and the opening 26A so that the wireharness may pass through the opening 26A formed in the box body 26.Thus, it is possible to retain the sealing performance of the box body26 and to protect the wire harness.

The upper cover member 27 is formed into a flat box shape having aplanar shape identical to that of the box body 26 and opened in itslower side so that it can close the upper opening of the box body 26.

On the other hand, the cooling panel 25 is formed of a synthetic resinhaving an excellent heat conductivity, into a hollow shape having aplanar shape similar to that of the electronic unit 23 housed in thehousing box 21, and is set to have a bottom face of a surface area atleast equal to or larger than that of the upper face of the electronicunit 23.

Moreover, the bottom face of the cooling panel 25 is either confrontedby a[least the upper face of the electronic unit 23 through apredetermined clearance or contacted by that upper face in a heattransferable manner, and provides a heat receiving face 29.

Therefore, the bottom face of the cooling panel 25 is confronted orcontacted by that upper face of the electronic unit 23, which has thehighest heat radiation, so that the heat generated is easilyconcentrated by the natural convection. Moreover, the operating heat ofthe electronic unit 23 is transferred from the upper face of theelectronic unit 23 having the largest surface area to the heat receivingface 29 of the cooling panel 25 so that a high heat efficiency can beobtained.

Moreover, the receiving face 29 of the heat from the electronic unit 23is positioned at a lower level than that of the joint portion betweenthe upper cover member 27 and the box body 26. Therefore, the influencefrom the outside of the housing box 21 is reduced to make the stableheal transfer from the upper face of the electronic unit 23 to the heatreceiving face 29 of the cooling panel 25.

Here, a soft member such as urethane for absorbing vibrations may beinterposed between the electronic unit 23 and the cooling panel 25 sothat the vibrations accompanying the running of the vehicle or theoperations of the various devices such as the engine in the engine roommay not be transmitted to the electronic unit 23.

On the other hand, the cooling panel 25 is integrally provided with aninlet 31 and an outlet 32 for the cooling air. By defining the inside ofthe cooling panel 25, moreover, the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 arearranged close to each other in the side face of the cooling panel 25.

Specifically, these inlet 3] and outlet 32 are formed into a pipe shapehaving a square transverse section and are disposed to protrude inparallel with each other at a right angle with respect to the side faceof the cooling panel 25 from the portions spaced widthwise in that sideface. Moreover, the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 communicate with theinside of the cooling panel 25 and are provided at their leading endswith ports 31 a and 32 a which are opened in a square shape.

Moreover, that side face of the box body 26 which correspond to theinlet 31 and the outlet 32 of the cooling panel 25 is cut from its upperopen end portion to form an opening 26B which is shaped in a rectangularshape. The leading ends of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 are protrudedto the outside through that opening 26B.

Moreover, a seal member 33 is disposed at an intermediate position ofthe protruded extensions of those inlet 31 and outlet 32.

Specifically, this seal member 33 is attached to that portion of thehousing box 21 which is confronted by the outer wall from the inlet 31and the outlet 32, when the cooling panel 25 is housed in the housingbox 21, and is protruded in a flange shape over that portion.

Moreover, the seal member 33 is so made of a soft and elastic materialsuch as rubber as to have a larger thickness than those of the sidewalls of the box body 26 and the upper cover member 27. In this sealmember 33, moreover, there are formed through holes which extend to theinlet 31 and the outlet 32 so that they retain the water/dust proofsbetween the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 and the seal member 33 when theyare held in close contact with the individual outer circumferences ofthe inlet 31 and the outlet 32.

Still moreover, the seal member 33 is formed to have an outer peripheraledge shape substantially identical to the open shape of the opening 26Bformed in the box body 26 so that its slightly upper base end mayprotrude from the peripheral edge of the box body 26.

When the upper cover member 27 is assembled with the box body 26,therefore, the root end side of the seal member 33, as taken in theinserting direction, is pushed in this direction by the upper covermember 27 so that the leading end portion of the seal member 33 ispushed toward the opening 26B to eliminate the clearance inbetween. As aresult, the water/dust proofs between the seal member 33 and the opening26B can be obtained to retain the sealing performance sufficiently asthe housing box 21 composed of the box body 26 and the upper covermember 27 while the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 being protruded from thehousing box 21 through the opening 26B formed in the box body 26.

Moreover, the assemblability can be improved because the assembly doesnot involve the separate work of assembling the seal member 33 for theinlet 31 and the outlet 32.

Moreover, the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 are disposed close to the sideface of the cooling panel 25 and protruded from in parallel with eachother thereby to make it sufficient to form the single opening 26B inthe box body 26 for passing the box body 26 therethrough. Therefore, thecost for machining the box body 26 while reducing the drop in thestrength and the sealing performance of the box body 26, and the sealmember 33 can be only one thereby to reduce the number of parts.Moreover, the cooling panel 25 is internally defined to form apredetermined passage so that the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 can bearranged at arbitrary positions. At the same time, it is possible toimprove the efficiencies of the heat exchanges between the cooling panel25 and the electronic unit 23 and between the cooling panel 25, to whichthe heat has been transferred, and the cooling air.

As shown in FIG. 7A, more specifically, the inside of the cooling panel25 is divided into the side of the inlet 31 and the side of the outlet32 while forming a communication portion by a central partition 25 awhich is extended at the intermediate portion between the inlet 31 andthe outlet 32, as arranged in the side face of the cooling panel 25,from the inner wall face to the vicinity of the opposite wall face. Inthe cooling pane) 25, therefore, there is formed a U-shaped passagewhich circulates the whole area of the cooling panel 25 from the inlet31 to the outlet 32.

By thus dividing the inside of the cooling panel 25 to form thearbitrary passage in the cooling panel 25 by the partition 25 a,therefore, no restriction is exerted on the places where the inlet 31and the outlet 32 are formed in the cooling panel 25. It is, therefore,possible to freely alter the arrangements of those inlet and outlet 31and 32 and the suction/exhaust ducts to be connected with the inlet 31and the outlet 32. Thus, it is possible to lead the ducts according tothe surrounding structure, in which the housing box 21 is disposed, andthe arrangement of the parts.

Although the single passage from the inlet 31 to the outlet 32 isdefined and formed in the cooling panel 25, moreover, the passage may beonce divided into a plurality of branches which are gathered at or nearthe outlet 32.

Therefore, the inlet 31 can be formed, for example, at such a positionas can shield at least the radiation heat from the high temperaturesource or the engine in the engine room. In this modification, thetemperature rise due to the radiation heat of the cooling air to beintroduced into the cooling panel 25 can be suppressed even slightly toimprove the cooling performance.

Moreover, the ports 31 a and 32 a of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 arearranged close to each other. When the (not-shown) dedicated duct forfeeding or discharging the cooling air is connected to the inlet 31 orthe outlet 32, therefore, it can be easily mounted/demounted. When themounted states of the two ducts are to be confirmed, on the other hand,the confirming operations can be easily done visually because the ports31 a and 32 a of the two inlet and outlet 31 and 32 are gathered at oneposition.

Here the specific embodiment thus far described is constructed byprotruding the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 from the common side face ofthe cooling panel 25 in the identical direction. However, the positions,the number and the shapes of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 should notbe limited thereto.

Specifically, the foregoing embodiment is constructed by protruding theinlet 31 and the outlet 32 from the box body 26. However, theconstruction may be modified to eliminate the protrusions of the inlet31 and the outlet 32 from the box body 26 by making the outer face ofthe box body 26 and the open faces of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 ina common plane.

According to this construction, therefore, the inlet 31 and the outlet32 are not protruded to the outside so that the housing box 21 can bemade compact and easily handled because of its less protrusions.

Moreover, the inlet 31 or the outlet 32 for feeding the cooling air maybe provided by a plurality of stages, and the passage in the coolingpanel 25 may also be divided and formed in plurality.

Even if the cooling air is fed in this modification under a pressurelike that of the aforementioned one, therefore, the total rate of thecooling air per unit time to pass in the housing box 21 can beincreased. Therefore, the heat to be transferred by the increasedcooling air is also increased to enhance the cooling performance.

Moreover, the protrusions of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 from thehousing box 21 may be bent or curved at their intermediate portions tomake the directions of their ports 31 a and 32 a different from orbetween the protruded direction of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32.

When the ports 31 a and 32 a of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 aredifferently directed, therefore, ducts are connected in differentdirections to the inlet 31 and the outlet 32. It is, therefore, possibleto retain the duct mounting or demounting properties sufficientlythereby to reduce the occasion for the mounting mistakes.

Moreover, the opening shapes of the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 are madeidentical but may be different from each other.

In this modification, therefore, the ports 31 a and 32 a of the inlet 31and the outlet 32 are made to have different opening shapes. The ductshaving mounted portions of correspondingly different opening shapes areconnected to the ports 31 a and 32 a so that their mounting mistakes canbe prevented.

Moreover, the aforementioned passage may be formed by dividing theinside of the cooling panel 25 not with the partition 25 a integratedtherewith but with a separate partition of the other member. In thismodification, moreover, the member forming the passage in the coolingpanel 25 is used as one for the separate partition. Therefore, thispartition may be given not only the function to form the passage butalso the function to promote the heat transfer from the cooling panel 25to the cooling air.

Specifically, the contact area of the partition with the cooling air maybe increased by providing the partition with heat radiation fins alongthe flow direction of the cooling air. In this modification, the heattransfer from the member forming the cooling panel 25 to the cooling aircan be promoted to improve the cooling efficiency.

Moreover, the partition may be modified by forming a plurality ofprojections regularly or irregularly to establish moderate turbulencesin the flow of the cooling air. In this modification, that portion ofthe cooling air which has little temperature rise because of no heattransfer from the component of the cooling panel 25 can be morefrequently contacted by the heat radiating portion of that component. Byagitating the cooling air flow, moreover, the temperature-raised airportion and the temperature-unraised air portion can be mixed andhomogenized to increase the calorie to be absorbed by the cooling airthereby and to improve the cooling ability. Then, the cooling airintroduced from the inlet 31 flows in the passage and through thesubstantially entire area in the cooling panel 25 until it reaches andleaves the outlet 32.

Unless such passage is formed in the cooling panel 25, morespecifically, the local areas, as shown by enclosures of broken lines inFIG. 7B, in the cooling panel 25 hardly admit the cooling air so thatthey become hot zones for the operating heat transferred from theelectronic unit 23 to reside and continue their thermally saturatedstale. Therefore, the passage for transferring the heat from theelectronic unit 23 to the cooling panel 25 is partially reduced so thatthe cooling ability of the cooling panel 25 is not exhibited to themaximum.

According to the construction shown in FIG. 7A, on the contrary, thereis defined the passage of the cooling air from the inlet 31 through atleast the heat receiving portion in the cooling panel 25 to the outlet32 so that most of the heat transferred from the electronic unit 23 inthe cooling panel 25 can always be carried away by the cooling air.Therefore, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of theelectronic unit 23 by the cooling panel 25.

Moreover, the inlet 31 is connected to the (not-shown) pipe-shapedsuction duct for feeding the ambient air to the cooling panel 25, andthe outlet 32 is connected to the (not-shown) pipe-shaped exhaust ductfor discharging the ambient air fed from the cooling panel 25.

Moreover, the leading end of the suction duct connected to the inlet 31is disposed below the body of the vehicle on the forward leading end sothat it can suck the ambient air. On the other hand, the trailing end ofthe exhaust duct connected to the outlet 32 is arranged near the suctionside of the (not-shown) motor-driven fan disposed at the (not-shown)radiator unit in the engine room. As the fan in the radiator unitrotates, therefore, a vacuum is established to introduce the ambient airfrom the suction duct. This ambient air introduced passes in the coolingpanel 25 of the housing box 21 until it is discharged from one end tothe radiator side of the exhaust duct.

With the cooling panel 25 thus constructed, therefore, the upper face ofthe maximum surface area of the electronic unit 23 is confronted orcontacted by the heat receiving face 29 or the bottom face of thecooling panel 25 so that most of the operating heat generated by theaction of the electronic unit 23 is efficiently transferred to the heatreceiving face 29. On the other hand, the ambient air or the cooling airis introduced from the inlet 31 into the cooling panel 25. This coolingair is guided in contact with at least the whole area of the heatreceiving face or the lower face of the partitioned cooling panel 25thereby to carry the heat away the heat receiving face 29. As a result,the electronic unit 23 is indirectly air-cooled. In the electronic unit23 of this case, the generated heat is easily concentrated by thenatural convection and is carried away the upper face of the largestsurface area, so that the electronic unit 23 is efficiently cooled down.

Moreover, the cooling air having acquired the heat of the electronicunit 23 to have its temperature raised to some extent is discharged fromthe outlet 32 to the outside of the housing box 21.

Here, the electronic unit 23 may be fixed on the cooling panel 25 byproviding brackets of a metal or resin at predetermined positions of thecooling panel 25. Alternatively, proper fixing means can be selectedfrom lock members or a combination of bolts and nuts to be fastened.

Thus, in the cooling panel 25, the cooling air flows only in the passagebut does not come into direct contact with the electronic unit 23.Therefore, the electronic unit 23 is not influenced or contaminated withthe cooling air so that it can be kept clean. Especially even when themoisture entrained into the cooling panel 25 by the cooling air from theoutside is evaporated by the high temperature in the engine room, thewater vapor does not touch the electronic unit 23 but is discharged asit is from the housing box 21.

Moreover, the cooling panel 25 is enabled to cool the electronic unit 23efficiently by carrying the heat away from the upper face of theelectronic unit 23 so that the housing box 21 can be made compact as awhole. Especially, the face of the largest surface area of theelectronic unit 23 is directed upward, and the operating heat isreleased from that upper face so that a high thermal efficiency can beachieved. As a result, the cooling panel need not be arranged on theremaining faces of the electronic unit 23, that is, around theelectronic unit 23 so that the housing box 21 can be made compact.

Moreover, the electronic unit 23 is housed in the housing box 21 whilebeing positioned to have its face of the largest surface area directedupward. Therefore, at least the electronic unit 23 itself is lowered inheight, and the cooling panel 25 itself may be low according to theelectronic unit 23 although depending upon the calorific power of theelectronic unit 23 or the flow rate of the cooling air. Therefore, theheight of the housing box 21 at the time when the upper cover member 27is mounted on the box body 26 can be set to the smallest value whilehousing the electronic unit 23.

As a result, according to the housing box 21 having the suppressedheight, the ventilation necessary for the wind or draft of the radiatorfan in the engine room is hardly reduced by the housing box 21 so that asufficient cooling efficiency of the engine can be achieved. Therefore,the capacity of the engine can be fully exhibited to improve thedrivability of the vehicle. Moreover, the ventilation in the engine roomis hardly deteriorated to relax the restriction on the arrangement ofthe housing box 21 so that the degree of freedom for the layout incombination with another device can be improved.

Moreover, the joint between the box body 26 and the upper cover member27 is provided with ridge and groove portions to mesh with each other,as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. In the bottom of the groove, there is fixeda seal member 43.

At the upward open end of the box body 26, more specifically, there isformed a ridge 41 which is protruded by a predetermined height upwardalong the wall face from the central portion of the wall in thethickness direction, along the peripheral open edge. The ridge 41 isangled in a transverse section at its leading end side. On the otherhand, the downward open end of the upper cover member 27 is thickenedoutward, and a groove 42 slightly deeper than the protruded height ofthe ridge 41 is formed for the ridge 41 generally at the central portionof the wall and along the peripheral open edge. The groove 42 is formedto have a rectangular transverse section on its bottom side.

On the bottom portion of the groove 42, there is mounted the seal member43 which can be elastically deformed when it is pushed by the leadingend of the ridge 41.

Specifically, this seal member 43 is formed to have an angled transversesection and is placed all over the periphery of the groove 42. Moreover,the seal member 43 is made of a material such as foamed rubber having asufficient elasticity and a water-proof.

Thus, the joint portion between the box body 26 and the upper covermember 27 is provided with the ridge 41 and the groove 42 having theseal member 43, and the box body 26 and the upper cover member 27 arefitted at the joint portion. After the housing box body 26 and the uppercover member 27 were thus assembled, the seal member 43 of the groove 42is softly deformed into a shape along the leading end of the ridge 41 tocome into close contact with the ridge 41 so that no clearance is leftat that joint portion. Moreover, a plurality of steps are formed in thepassage which might otherwise admit water or dust from the outside toblock passage of the water or dust so that a sufficient sealingperformance can be retained as the housing box 21 at the joint portionbetween the box body 26 and the upper cover member 27.

Moreover, the seal member 43 is mounted in the bottom portion of thegroove 42 so that it is positioned deep in the groove 42 and isprotected while being not exposed to the outside. Therefore, the sealmember 43 itself can be prevented from being damaged, to keep itssealing performance, and a softer fragile material can be used for theseal member 43. The option range for the material can be widened tolower the cost and raise the performance.

Moreover, a groove is formed at the joint portion of the upper covermember 27 to the box body 26, i.e., the groove 42 is formed downward, sothat it can be freed from accumulation of fine dust and from beingclogged with the dust.

At the same time, a ridge is formed at the joint portion of the box body26 to the upper cover member 27, i.e., the ridge 41 is formed upward, sothat it can be freed from accumulation of fine dust and from beingcontaminated with the dust.

As a result, even if the upper cover member 27 is repeatedly mounted onand demounted from the box body 26 so as to inspect and maintain theelectronic unit 23, the joint portion between the upper cover member 27and the box body 26 is hardly clogged wit the fine dust. Therefore, thejoint portion can retain the sealing property to keep the sealingperformance as the housing box 21.

Here will be described another specific embodiment of the housing box 21of the invention.

This specific embodiment will be described mainly on the construction ofthe cooling panel as on the remaining specific embodiment to bedescribed hereinafter.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the housing box 21 of this embodiment isconstructed such that a cooling panel 25A and a cooling panel 25B arearranged horizontally in tandem and such that two or more electronicunits 23A and 23B to be cooled by the cooling panels 25A and 25B,respectively, are housed in the housing box 21.

Moreover, the inlet 31 is formed in the side face of one cooling panel25A, and the outlet 32 is formed in the side face of the other coolingpanel 25B. These cooling panels 25A and 25B are internally made tocommunicate with each other via a communication passage 53 interposedinbetween.

In the insides of the individual cooling panels 25A and 25B, there aredefined and formed passages for circulating at least through all theportions having received the heats from the electronic units 23A and23B. It is also assumed that the remaining specific embodiments to bedescribed have similar passages defined and formed in the coolingpanels.

In addition to effects similar to those of the foregoing specificembodiment, therefore, according to the construction of this embodiment,when the two or more electronic units 23A and 23B are housed in thehousing box 21, those upper faces of the electronic units 23A and 23Bwhich have the largest surface areas for concentrating the heats easilyare confronted or contacted by heat receiving faces 29 a and 29 b or thebottom faces of the cooling panels 25A and 25B, as in the foregoingembodiment. Therefore, the heats of the electronic units 23A and 23B areefficiently transferred to the cooling panels 25A and 25B so that theelectronic units 23A and 23B can be effectively cooled down with thecooling air thereby to acquire high cooling capacities. As a result, thecooling panels need not be arranged on the remaining faces of theelectronic units 23A and 23B, i.e., around the electronic units 23A and23B so that the housing box 21 can be made compact.

Especially, the housing box 21 can be constructed to have the minimumnecessary height, as in the foregoing specific embodiment. Specifically,the height of the housing box 21 can be made slightly larger than thesum of the height of the higher one of the electronic units 23A and 23Band the height of the higher one of the cooling panels 25A and 25B whichare specified by the internal volumes set according to the calorificpowers of the electronic units 23A and 23B confronted or contacted. As aresult, according to the housing box 21 having such height, the drop inthe ventilation in the engine room by the housing box 21 can be reducedto provide a sufficient engine cooling efficiency so that the capacityof the engine can be fully exhibited to improve the drivability of thevehicle.

All the way from the inlet 31 to the outlet 32, moreover, the coolingair always flows in substantially identical planes, and its flowdirection fluctuates not vertically but only transversely. Therefore,the cooling air passing through the individual cooling panels 25A and25B is not affected by the vertical fluctuations so that its flow ratecan be easily set to an intended value.

Here will be described another specific embodiment of the housing box 21of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the housing box 21 of this embodiment isconstructed by arranging a cooling panel 25C and a cooling panel 25Dvertically in stack and in parallel with each other and by housing atleast two or more electronic units 23C and 23D to be cooled by thecooling panels 25C and 25D, in the housing box 21.

Specifically, the cooling panels 25C and 25D stacked are provided ontheir one-side faces with the (not-shown) inlet and (not-shown) branchpassages communicating with the inlet and branching into the coolingpanels 25C and 25D, so that the cooling air introduced from the inletmay be distributed into the cooling panels 25C and 25D.

On the other hand, the cooling panels 25C and 25D are provided on theirother side faces with the (not-shown) outlet and (not-shown) collectingpassages communicating with the outlet and collecting from the coolingpanels 25C and 25D, so that the cooling air flows collected anddischarged from the cooling panels 25C and 25D may be discharged fromthe outlet.

In addition to effects similar to those of the aforementioned specificembodiment, therefore, according to the construction of this embodiment,the cooling air introduced from the inlet is distributed into thecooling panels 25C and 25D so that these cooling panels 25C and 25D canexhibit their cooling abilities without any interference andindependently of each other. The electronic units 23C and 23Dcorresponding to the cooling panels 25C and 25D are likewise cooledwithout being affected by each other so that the cooling performancescan be stably retained. Even if the cooling ability of one cooling panelis lowered for some reason, the cooling ability of the other can be keptunlowered, so that the trouble-resistance can be retained to improve thecooling performance.

Depending upon the passages to be defined and formed in the coolingpanels 25C and 25D, moreover, the lengths of the passages from the inletto the outlet can be equalized between the cooling panel 25C and thecooling panel 25D thereby to set the cooling abilities of the coolingpanels 25C and 25D identical to each other. Therefore, the plurality ofelectronic units 23C and 23D requiring substantially identical coolingabilities can be easily handled by housing them in the housing box 21.

In the construction in which the two electronic units 23C and 23D arecooled by the two cooling panels 25C and 25D, moreover, the lengths ofthe passages need not be doubled but can be substantially set to that ofthe single cooling panel. In this modification, the passage resistanceto the feed pressure of the cooling air by the length of the passage,that is, the pressure loss can be reduced. By raising the feed pressureof the cooling air, therefor e, the flow rates in the cooling panels 25Cand 25D can be efficiently increased to enhance the cooling abilities bythe increase in the flow rate.

By the construction in which the cooling panels 25C and 25D and theelectronic units 23C and 23D are stacked, moreover, the plane area formounting them is not increased but only is one necessary for arranging asingle set of an electronic unit and a cooling panel. Therefore, it ispossible to relax the conditions for arranging the housing box 21.

In the foregoing specific embodiments, that of the faces of theelectronic unit 23A or 23B which has the largest surface area isdirected upward to provide the upper face, and this upper face isconfronted at a clearance or contacted by the bottom face of the coolingpanel 25A or 25B. However, the construction should not be limitedthereto but may be modified such that the hottest face of the electronicunit 23A or 23B may be positioned as the upper face in accordance withthe application or function of the electronic unit 23A or 23B.

According to this construction, therefore, the operating heat iscontinuously carried away by the cooling air from that of the faces ofthe electronic unit 23A or 23B which is liable to take the highertemperature and to concentrate the heat. Therefore, the electronic unit23A or 23B can be efficiently cooled to retain the sufficient coolingperformance.

Of the faces of the electronic unit 23A or 23B, moreover, there may beselected: the face to which the operating heat of an important partindispensable for the application or function is transferred; the faceconfronted by the region which has a high operating frequency so that itcomes into a high temperature state locally; or the face confronted bythe part which is isolated either to prevent it from exerting theinfluences of its high operating beat upon other electronic parts or toprevent it from being thermally influenced by other electronic partsbecause of its strict temperature conditions at the operating time.Thus, it is possible to eliminate the disadvantages of each of thosecases in advance.

Moreover, the upper face of the electronic unit 23A or 23B is confrontedat a clearance or contacted by the bottom face of the cooling panel 25Aor 25B. However, the construction should not be limited thereto but maybe modified such that the passage or passages confronted by one or someof the side faces of the electronic unit 23A or 23B excepting that upperface are retained by extending members constructing the cooling panel25A or 25B. Especially if the passage of the cooling air is retained atthat face of the housing box 21 which is easily heated from the outside,the influence of the heat from the outside on the electronic unit 23A or23B can be reduced. Even if the electronic unit 23A or 23B is notcooled, therefore, it is sufficiently effective to cool down theelectronic unit 23A or 23B.

According to the housing box thus constructed, as has been describedhereinbefore, the cooling panels for passing the cooling airtherethrough are housed in the housing box, and the electronic units andthe cooling panels are thermally shielded from the outside. Even if alarge space for passing the cooling air therethrough is not retainedaround the electronic units, therefore, the electronic units can besufficiently cooled down by the cooling panels, and the cooling panelsthemselves can be made small to make the housing box compact.

With the construction in which the cooling panels confront the upperfaces of the electronic units, moreover, the heat can be continuouslycarried away from the upper face, in which the operating heat is easilyconcentrated by the natural convection in the cooling panel, by thecooling air flowing in the electronic unit. Therefore, a high coolingefficiency can be obtained to retain a sufficient cooling performance.Especially, one of the faces of the electronic unit, the face having thelargest surface area is directed upward as the upper face. Therefore,most of the operating heat generated by the electronic unit isefficiently transferred from the electronic unit to the cooling panel sothat the cooling ability of the electronic unit can be improved. As aresult, a high cooling ability can be obtained so that the cooling panelcan be made smaller to make the size of the housing box itself smaller.

When the housing box is disposed in the engine room, on the other hand,the housing box is small-sized so that it is freed from interfering withother parts around it. Therefore, the parts can be easily assembled.Moreover, the cooling efficiency of the engine can be kept withoutlowering the ventilation of the vehicle compartment so that theperformance of the engine can be sufficiently exhibited to improve thedrivability of the vehicle.

Moreover, the inlet and the outlet are protruded from the side face ofthe cooling panel close to and in parallel with each other so that theconduits to be connected to those inlet and outlet can be gatheredsubstantially at a position. Therefore, the conduits can be improved intheir mountability and prevented from interfering with the wires to beconnected with the electronic unit and the structures around them,thereby to improve the degree of freedom for the design.

Moreover, the single opening is formed so that the inlet and the outletof the cooling panel arranged close to each other may be extended to theoutside of the housing box and may pass through the wall portion of thehousing box. As compared with the construction having the two separateopenings for the inlet and the outlet, the single opening can besufficiently formed in the housing box to reduce the working cost and toimprove the sealing property and the structural strength of the housingbox.

Moreover, the seal member is mounted in advance midway of the extensionsof the inlet and the outlet so that it can be interposed between theinlet and the outlet and the opening of the housing box can be sealedwithout any clearance, merely by assembling the cooling panel having theelectronic unit with the outer box body and by assembling the outer boxcover with the outer box body. At this assembling time, the seal membersfor the inlet and the outlet need not be separately assembled to improvethe assemblability, and the single seal member can reduce the number ofparts.

Moreover, the inside of the cooling panel is partitioned to form thepassage arbitrarily in the cooling panel so that the positions forforming the inlet and the outlet in the cooling panel are notrestricted. Therefore, the arrangements for the inlet and outletthemselves and the fee d/exhaust ducts to be connected to theinlet/outlet can be flexibly altered according to the other surroundingparts or structures thereby to improve the mountability of the ducts.Moreover, the ducts can be prevented from interfering with the wires tobe connected with the electronic unit or the other surrounding parts orstructures.

By fitting the box body of the housing box and the cooing panel at theirjoint portion between the ridge and the groove and by arranging the sealmember in the groove, moreover, the seal member in the groove iselastically deformed into close contact with the ridge after the boxbody and the cooling panel were assembled. Therefore, no clearance isleft at the joint portion, and the plurality of steps are formed by thegroove-ridge fitting relation in the passage which might otherwise allowthe moisture or dust to penetrate from the outside into housing boxthrough the joint portion. Thus, the penetration of the moisture or dustcan be blocked to retain the sealing property as the housing boxsufficiently.

On the other hand, the joint portion of the upper cover member for thebox body is provided with the downward groove so that the groove can beprevented from being clogged with the fine dust. Moreover, the jointportion of the box body for the upper cover member is provided with theupward ridge so that the ridge can be less contaminated with the finedust. As a result, even if the upper cover member is repeatedly mountedon or demounted from the box body so as to inspect or maintain theelectronic unit, the sealing property at the joint portion between theupper cover member and the box body can be retained to keep the sealingperformance as the housing box.

Here will be described still another specific embodiment of theinvention. The embodiment to be described in the following isconstructed, as shown in FIG. 10, such that two electronic units 53A and53B having electronic devices of electronic parts in a case are housedin a housing box 51 having water-proof, dust-proof and heat-resistingfunctions. The fundamental constructions of the electronic units 53A and53B are substantially identical to those of the electronic units of theforegoing specific embodiments. However, the individual electronic units53A and 53B are different from each other in their contours because ofthe constructions of the electronic parts housed therein. The electronicunit 53A is formed into a parallelepiped shape whereas the electronicunit 53B is formed into a flat plate shape.

The housing box 51 is constructed to include: a cooling panel 55 onwhich the electronic units 53A and 53B are removably mounted; an outerbox body 56 for housing the cooling panel 55 therein; and an outer boxcover 57. Conduits can be connected to the cooling panel 55, and wirescan be connected with the electronic units 53A and 53B.

The cooling panel 55 is made of a synthetic resin material having anexcellent heat conductivity and is constructed, as shown in FIG. 14,FIGS. 15A to 15C and FIGS. 16A and 16B, by arranging two flat plateshape hollow bodies 61 and 62 with their upper and lower faces being inparallel with each other and at a predetermined clearance, by connectingand fixing those two hollow bodies 61 and 62 through two communicationpassages 63 and 64, and by forming an inlet 58 and an outlet 59 for thecooling wind in one hollow body 61.

Specifically, the hollow body 61, as located on the lower side of theDrawings, is planarly formed into a generally rectangular shapeidentical to the planar shape of the electronic unit 53B and is providedin its side face with the cooling wind inlet 58 and outlet 59 juxtaposedto each other.

Moreover, the bottom face of the hollow body 61 on the lower side iscontacted in a heat transferable manner by the upper face of theelectronic unit 53A. Therefore, the bottom face of the hollow body 61provides a first heat receiving face 61A.

Here, reference numeral 61B appearing in FIG. 16B designates a notchwhich is formed in the hollow body 61 for retaining a predeterminedclearance in the housing box 51 when the cooling panel 55 is housed inthe housing box 51.

The hollow body 62 on the upper side is planarly formed into a generallyrectangular shape identical to the planar shape of the electronic unit53B.

Between the upper hollow body 62 and the lower hollow body 61 contactedby the electronic unit 53A, as shown in FIG. 14, FIGS. 15A to 15C andFIGS. 16A and 16B, there is sandwiched and fixed the electronic unit 53Bwhich generates heat when activated. Moreover, this electronic unit 53Bis contacted at its upper face in a heat transferable manner by thelower face of the upper hollow body 62. Therefore, the lower face of theupper hollow body 62 provides a second heat receiving face 62A.

Here, reference numeral 62B designates a notch which is formed in thehollow body 62 for retaining a predetermined clearance in the housingbox 51 when the cooling panel 55 is housed in the housing box 51.

Moreover, the two communication passages 63 and 64 for connecting theupper and lower hollow bodies 61 and 62 are formed to bypass the spaceformed between the two hollow bodies 61 and 62.

Specifically, these communication passages 63 and 64 are formed intohollow column shapes and are vertically arranged on the outer sides ofthe portions of the longer sides, as viewed in a top plan view, of thehollow bodies 61 and 62 and at staggered positions of the oppositesides.

Therefore, those communication passages 63 and 64 are formed to avoidthe interference with the harnesses to be connected with the electronicunits 53A and 53B and to retain clearances for mounting brackets to fixthe outer box cover 57 on the outer box body 56.

Moreover, the communication passages 63 and 64 are connected tocommunicate with the passages formed in the later-described hollowbodies 61 and 62. Specifically, one communication passage 63 isconnected with an entrance passage formed in the hollow body thereby tofeed the cooling air having passed through the entrance passage to theinside of the upper hollow body 62. The other communication passage 64is connected with the terminal end of a passage formed in the upperhollow body 62 thereby to feed the cooling air having passed through thepassage to an exit passage formed in the lower hollow body 61.

Moreover, the effective area of the communication passage 64 for feedingthe cooling air from the upper hollow body 62 is made slightly largerthan that of the communication passage 63 for feeding the cooling airfrom the lower hollow body 61, so that the cooling air having its volumeexpanded by the operating heats of the two electronic units 53A and 53Bmay be smoothly fed from the upper hollow body 62 to the lower hollowbody 61.

Moreover, the lower hollow body 61 is integrally provided with the inlet58 and the outlet 59 on the shorter side face, as viewed in the topplan. Specifically, an extension 65 for the inlet 58 and the outlet 59is formed to have a thickness equal to that of the lower hollow body 61by protruding it by a predetermined length from the side face of thehollow body 61. Therefore, these inlet 58 and outlet 59 are protrudedoutward by the predetermined length at the housing time from the housingbox 51 composed of the outer box body 56 and the outer box cover 57.

Moreover, the extension 65 is transversely divided from the center alongits extending direction, as shown in FIG. 17, and is provided with apartition 61 a for dividing the inside of the hollow body into twochambers thereby to form passages communicating with the inlet 58 andthe outlet 59 and continued to communicate as they are with the twochambers in the hollow body.

Reverting to FIGS. 14 and 15, moreover, the inlet 58 and the outlet 59are vertically bent midway of their extension 65 while keeping theirextending directions identical.

Moreover, the outlet 59 has its port 59 a directed in the extendingdirection, whereas the inlet 58 is bent near its leading end to have itsport 58 a directed downward of the Drawing.

Therefore, the ports 58 a and 59 a of the inlet 58 and the outlet 59 aredirected in directions different from each other. When the (not-shown)dedicated ducts for feeding or discharging the cooling air are to beindividually connected to the inlet 58 and the outlet 59, therefore,they may be connected in the different directions. Thus, the ductmountability and demountability can be sufficiently retained.

To the inlet 58, more specifically, there is connected the (not-shown)pipe-shaped suction duct for feeding the ambient air to the coolingpanel 55. To the outlet 59, there is connected the (not-shown)pipe-shaped exhaust duct for discharging the ambient air fed from thecooling panel 55.

Moreover, the leading end of the suction duct to be connected to theinlet 58 is arranged in the lower portion of the vehicle body at theforward leading end of the vehicle so that it can suck the ambient air.This suction duct is so bent that its intermediate portion may extendalong the inner shape of the engine room or around the other devices orconduits. The other end of the suction duct is connected to the inlet 58of the cooling panel 55 so that the suction duct may communicate withthe cooling panel 55. Therefore, the ambient air is sucked from the oneend of the suction duct at a lower position and is fed to the coolingpanel 55 of the housing box 51, arranged in the upper portion on thecontrary. At the same time, the suction duct is bent at its intermediateportion so that an amount of moisture or dust may be prevented frombeing sucked into the cooling panel 55 when the ambient air is let in.

On the other hand, the terminal end of the exhaust duct to be connectedto the outlet 59 is arranged at a position near the suction side of the(not-shown) motor-driven fan which is disposed in the (not-shown)radiator unit in the engine room.

As the fan in the radiator unit rotates, therefore, a vacuum isestablished to suck the ambient air from the suction duct. This ambientair sucked is discharged through the cooling panel 55 of the housing box51 from one end portion of the exhaust duct to the radiator unit.

Moreover, reference numerals 58 b and 59 b designate projections whichare used when the dedicated ducts for feeding/exhausting the cooling airare connected to the inlet 58 and the outlet 59, respectively.

Moreover, the extension 65 of the inlet 58 and the outlet 59 is providedat its predetermined portion with a rib 65 a for mounting a seal member66 on the inlet 58 and the outlet 59. Specifically, this rib 65 a isdisposed to confront the outer wall of the housing box 51, when thecooling panel 55 is housed in the housing box 51, and is formed toprotrude in a flange shape by a predetermined amount around theextrusion 65.

The seal member 66 to be mounted on the rib 65 a is made of anelastically deformable material and is formed at its inner peripheraledge portion into a shape slightly smaller than the outer peripheralshape of the rib 65 a and at its outer peripheral edge portion into ashape generally identical to the inner peripheral shape of the openingwhich is formed by a notch 56 a of the outer box body 56 and a notch 57a of the outer box cover 57, as will be described later, when the outerbox cover 57 is assembled with the outer box body 56.

Therefore, the inlet 58 and the outlet 59 are sealed up without anyclearance by sandwiching the seal member 66 between them and the openingof the housing box 51 when the outer box cover 57 is assembled with theouter box body 56.

In the upper hollow body 62, moreover, there is formed a cooling airpassage of a predetermined sealed structure so as to improve the heatexchange efficiency between the hollow body 62 and the electronic unit53B.

As shown in FIG. 18A, more specifically, the inside of the upper hollowbody 62 is partitioned by staggered partitions 62 a and 62 b. This upperhollow body 62 is provided with the partition 62 a, which is formed fromthe side wall near the communication passage 63 connected to the hollowbody 62 to the vicinity of the opposite side wall, and the partition 62b which is formed from the other side wall to the vicinity of theopposite side wall. A meandering passage from the communication passage63 to the communication passage 64 is defined and formed in the hollowbody 62 by those partitions 62 a and 62 b.

Therefore, the cooling air fed from one communication passage 63 passessubstantially the whole area in the upper hollow body 62 to the othercommunication passage 64 while meandering along the passage. As aresult, the cooling wind always flows substantially all over the area inthe hollow body 62 so that the heat can always be carried away from thesubstantially whole area of the hollow body 62 thereby to improve theability to cool the electronic unit 53B. In the case failing to havesuch passage, on the contrary, the regions enclosed by broken lines inFIG. 18B become the hot zones in which the operating heat transferredfrom the electronic unit 53B resides.

In the cooling panel 55 shown in FIG. 19, the upper face of theelectronic unit 53A is contacted by the first heat receiving face 61A ofthe hollow body 61, and the electronic unit 53B is contacted by thesecond heat receiving face 62A of the hollow body 62. The operatingheats generated by the actions of those electronic units 53A and 53B aretransferred to the heat receiving faces 61A and 61B, respectively. Onthe other hand, the ambient air or the cooling air is fed from the inlet58. This cooling air flows at first in the lower hollow body 61 to carryaway the heat from the lower face of the hollow body 61, i.e., from thefirst heat receiving face 61A. As a result, the electronic unit 53A isindirectly air-cooled. In this case, the electronic unit 53A isefficiently cooled because the heat is carried out by the naturalconvection from the upper face in which the operating heat is easilyconcentrated.

Moreover, the cooling air having acquired the heat of the electronicunit 53A to have its temperature raised to some extent is fed via thecommunication passage 63 to the upper hollow body 62 and flows towardthe other communication passage 64 while meandering in the upper hollowbody 62. In the way of this communication, the cooling air is contactedby the lower face of the upper hollow body 62, i.e., the second heatreceiving face 62A so that it carries away the heat. As a result, theelectronic unit 53B contacted by the second heat receiving face 62A isindirectly air-cooled. In this case, the electronic unit 53B has itsheat carried away from its upper face, in which the operating heat iseasily concentrated, by the natural convection so that it is efficientlycooled down.

Moreover, the cooling air is fed via the communication passage 64 to thelower hollow body 61 and carries again the heat away the first heatreceiving face 61A to cool the electronic unit 53A indirectly, until itis discharged from the outlet 59.

Here, the electronic units 53A and 53B may be mounted on the coolingpanel 55 by providing brackets of a metal or resin at predeterminedpositions of the cooling portion. Alternatively, optimum means can besuitably selected from lock members or a combination of bolts and nuts.

Thus, in the cooling panel 55 according to the invention, the coolingair flows only in the individual hollow bodies 61 and 62, i.e., onlythrough the passages of the cooling air but does not come into directcontact with the electronic units 53A and 53B. Therefore, the electronicunits 53A and 53B are not influenced or contaminated with the coolingair.

In the cooling panel 55 thus far described, moreover, the two electronicunits 53A and 53B can be simultaneously cooled by carrying the heatsaway their upper faces so that they can be efficiently cooled down.Moreover, the electronic units 53A and 53B are vertically arranged atthe predetermined clearance by stacking them so that the construction ofthe entire cooling panel 55 including the hollow bodies 61 and 62 can bemade compact.

Then, the cooling air having received the operating heats of the twoelectronic units 53A and 53B flows via the communication passage intothe lower hollow body 61 and is discharged from this hollow body 61through the outlet 59 to the outside of the cooling unit.

Moreover, those inlet 58 and outlet 59 are gathered at one place.Therefore, as described hereinafter, only one opening is sufficient forpassing the inlet 58 and the outlet 59 therethrough if it is formed inthe housing box 51 which is composed of the outer box body 56 and theouter box cover 57. As a result, it is possible to improve the sealingproperty and the structural strength of the housing box 51.

Reverting to FIGS. 10 to 13, more specifically, the outer box body 56 isopened upward and is internally formed into a box shape similar to butslightly larger than the external shape of the cooling panel 55 havingthe electronic units 53A and 53B mounted thereon.

Moreover, this outer box body 56 is made of a synthetic resin having anexcellent heat conductivity such as polypropylene or polyamide tolighten the weight and lower the cost and to retain the necessary heatresistance.

Moreover, that side face of the outer box body 56 which is confronted bythe (not-shown) connector of the electronic unit 53B is provided with asemicircular notch 56 b, on which there is mounted a grommet type sealmember 67 for the (not-shown) wire harness to be connected with theconnector.

Likewise in that side face of the outer box body 56 which is confrontedby the (not-shown) connector of the electronic unit 53A, there is formedan elliptical opening 56 c, on which there is mounted a grommet typeseal member 68 for the (not-shown) wire harness to be connected with theconnector.

Specifically, the wire harness seal members 67 and 68 are provided forsealing the wire harness and the notch 56 b and the opening 56 c with noclearance, so as to retain the sealing property with the outer box body56 when the wire harness gathering the wires for connecting theelectronic units 53A and 53B and the external devices electrically isconnected the electronic unit 53A through the notch 56 b and the opening56 c formed in the outer box body 56. Each of the seal members 67 and 68is constructed to include a plate-shaped root portion to be fitted inthe opening, and a pipe-shaped leading end portion jointed to the rootportion. Via the cornice portion, these root portion and end portion areintegrally formed of an elastically deformable material.

On the other hand, that side face of the outer box body 56 which isconfronted by the inlet 58 and the outlet 59 is given such a length asis positioned slightly at a higher level than the lower hollow body 61of the cooling panel 55 housed in the outer box body 56. Accordingly,the corresponding portion of the outer box cover 57 is extendeddownward.

Specifically, the notch 56 a of a predetermined shape is formed in theside face of the outer box body 56, and the notch 57 a of apredetermined shape is formed in the side face of the outer box cover57. When the outer box cover 57 is assembled with the outer box body 56there is formed a single opening which can pass the inlet 58 and theoutlet 59. As has been described hereinbefore, a seal membercorresponding to that opening is mounted on the predetermined portionsof the inlet 58 and the outlet 59 of the cooling panel 55.

Merely by assembling the cooling panel 55 having the electronic units53A and 53B in the outer box body 56 and by assembling the outer boxcover 57 with the outer box body 56, therefore, the seal member 66 canbe sandwiched between the inlet 58 and the outlet 59 and the opening thehousing box 51 to seal them up with no clearance.

At the assembling time, therefore, the seal member for the inlet and theoutlet need not be separately assembled to improve the assemblability.

Here, reference numeral 56A designates brackets which are disposed onone side portion of the outer box body 56 and in which screw holes of apredetermined diameter are formed therethrough. On the outer box cover57, there are mounted bracket portions 57A which are located atpositions corresponding to the bracket portions 56A. Moreover, the outerbox cover 57 is provided on its other side portion with ring-shaped lockportions 57D, and the outer box body 56 is provided on its other sideportion with protrusions 56D to be fitted in the lock portions 57D.Therefore, the outer box cover 57 can be firmly fixed on the outer boxbody 56 by fitting the lock portions 57D on the protrusions 56D of theouter box body 56 and then by fastening the bracket portions 56A and 57Aby the bolts.

On the other hand, reference numerals 56B and 57B designate bulges whichare formed on the outer box body 56 and the outer box cover 57 protrudedto outer direction for housing the communication passage 64 of thecooling panel 55. Reference numerals 56C and 57C designate bulges whichare formed on the outer box body 56 protruded to outer direction and theouter box cover 57 for housing the communication passage 63 of thecooling panel 55.

At the individual joint end portions of the outer box body 56 and theouter box cover 57, as shown in FIG. 20, there are formed a groove and aridge for meshing with each other. A seal member 73 is fixed on theupper bottom portion of the groove.

On the generally central portion of the wall portion in the thicknessdirection at the joint end portion of the outer box body 56, morespecifically, there is formed a ridge 71 of a rectangular transversesection, which protrudes upward to a predetermined extent. In thegenerally central portion of the wall portion in the thickness directionat the joint end portion of the outer box cover 57, there iscorrespondingly formed a groove 72 of a rectangular transverse section,which is recessed to a predetermined depth.

Moreover, the elastically deformable seal member 73 is fixed on thebottom portion of that groove 72. The seal member 73 is made of amaterial of a rich elasticity and a water-proof, such as independentlyfoamed rubber.

Therefore, a plurality of steps are formed at the joint portion betweenthe outer box body 56 and the outer box cover 57, and the seal member 73is fitted on the joint portion. After the outer box body 56 and theouter box cover 57 were assembled, the seal member 73 of the groove 72elastically deforms to come into close contact with the ridge 71 so thatno clearance can be left at the joint portion thereby to retain thesealing performance sufficiently as the housing box 51.

Moreover, a groove is formed in the joint end portion of the outer boxcover 57, i.e., the groove 72 is formed downward, so that it is freedfrom being clogged with the fine dust. At the same time, a ridge isformed on the joint end portion of the outer box body 56, i.e., theridge is formed upward, so that it is freed from being contaminated withthe fine dust. Even if the outer box cover 57 is repeatedly mounted onor demounted from the outer box body 56 for inspecting or maintainingthe electronic units 53A and 53B, therefore, the sealing property at thejoint portion between the outer box cover 57 and the outer box body 56can be retained to keep the sealing performance of the housing box 51.

Although the invention has been described in connection with itsembodiments, it should not be limited thereto but can be modified invarious manners. For example, the single passage is defined and formedin each hollow body. However, the passage may be once divided into aplurality of passages, and these branch passages may be collected at acommunication passage leading out of the hollow body. Moreover, theremay be provided a plurality of communication passages for feeding thecooling air from the lower hollow body 61 to the upper hollow body 62,and there may be provided a plurality of communication passages forfeeding the cooling air from the upper hollow body 62 to the lowerhollow body 61. Accordingly, the passage in each hollow body may bedivided and formed into a plurality of passages.

According to the cooling device thus constructed, as has been describedhereinbefore, a cooling panel is constructed such that the upper face ofone electronic unit is confronted by the bottom face of a hollow body,such that the other electronic unit is placed on the hollow body, andsuch that the upper face of the hollow body is confronted by the bottomface of the other hollow body. These components are stacked, and aplurality of communication passages are provided for connecting theindividual hollow bodies to each other. Thus, the cooling panel issmall-sized to make the housing box compact for housing the coolingpanel.

With the construction in which the upper faces of the electronic unitsare confronted by the individual hollow bodies, moreover, the operatingheats of the electronic units can be carried away the upper faces, inwhich the heats are easily concentrated by the natural convections inthe electronic units, by the cooling air flowing in the hollow bodies.Therefore, a high cooling efficiency can be achieved to retain asufficient cooling performance for the cooling panel housing the twoelectronic units.

Moreover, the communication passages of the cooling panel are providedbypassing the electronic unit interposed between the hollow bodiesconnected therethrough, so that the cooling device has the communicationpassages only around the side faces of the electronic unit. Therefore,the obstacles around the side faces of the electronic unit are reducedto the minimum. When the cooling panel is housed in the housing box, theelectronic unit can be easily wired and handled, and the space forarranging the various fixing brackets can be retained in the housing boxthereby to improve the degree of freedom for the design.

Moreover, the inlet and outlet of the cooling panel are disposed closeto each other and on the side face of one hollow body, so that theconduits to be connected to those inlet and outlet can be collectedsubstantially at one position. It is, therefore, possible to improve themountability of the conduits and to prevent the conduits frominterfering with the wires to be connected with the electronic unit orthe surrounding structures, thereby to improve the degree of freedom forthe design.

Moreover, the single opening is formed in the housing box so that theinlet and the outlet, as arranged close to each other, of the coolingpanel may be formed to extend to the outside of the housing box and topass through the wall portion of the housing box. As compared with theconstruction in which two separate openings are formed for the inlet andthe outlet, therefore, only one opening can be sufficient for thehousing box to lower the working cost and to improve the sealingproperty and the structural strength of the housing box.

Moreover, the seal member is mounted in advance midway of the extensionsof the inlet and the outlet so that it can be interposed between theinlet and the outlet and the opening of the housing box without sealingthem without any clearance, merely by assembling the cooling panelhaving the electronic unit with the outer box body and by assembling theouter box cover with the outer box body. At this assembling time, theseal members for the inlet and the outlet need not be separatelyassembled to improve the assemblability.

Moreover, the outer box body and the outer box cover composing thehousing box are fitted at their joint portion of the groove and theridge, and the seal member is arranged in the groove so that theplurality of steps are formed at the joint portion between the outer boxbody and the outer box cover. After these outer box body and cover wereassembled, the seal member in the groove is elastically deformed to comeinto close contact with the ridge so that no clearance can be left atthe joint portion to retain the sealing performance sufficiently as thehousing box.

On the other hand, the joint end portion of the outer box cover isprovided with the downward groove so that the groove can be preventedfrom being clogged with the fine dust. Moreover, the joint end portionof the outer box body is provided with the upward ridge so that theridge can be less contaminated with the fine dust. As a result, even ifthe upper cover member is repeatedly mounted on or demounted from thebox body so as to inspect or maintain the electronic unit, the sealingproperty at the joint portion between the upper cover member and the boxbody can be retained to keep the sealing performance as the housing box.

1. An electronic unit cooling device for cooling an electronic unithaving a plurality of electronic parts, indirectly with cooling air,comprising: a cooling panel of a hollow structure for passing thecooling air therethrough, the cooling panel including a hollow upperside flat plate portion and a hollow lower side flat plate portionconnected together at a hollow side end portion, such that the coolingpanel forms a U-shape with a space between the upper and lower side flatplate portions, the cooling air entering from one of the upper or lowerside flat plate portions, passing through the hollow portions of theupper and lower side flat plate portions and side end portion andexiting from the other of the upper or lower side flat plate portion atan area outside of the space between the upper and lower side flat plateportions; a first heat receiving face formed on said upper side flatplate portion of said cooling panel; and a second heat receiving faceformed on said lower side flat plate portion of said cooling panel.
 2. Acooling device according to claim 1, wherein said cooling panelincludes: an inlet and an outlet for the cooling air; and a partitionfor dividing the inside of said cooling panel into a passage leadingfrom said inlet to said outlet.
 3. A cooling device according to claim1, wherein said first heat receiving face includes a plane, and whereinsaid second heat receiving face includes a plane.
 4. A cooling deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said cooling panel includes acommunication passage for providing the communication between the insideof said upper side flat plate portion and the inside of said lower sideflat plate portion, and wherein an inlet of the communication passage isformed in said lower side flat plate portion whereas an outlet of thecommunication passage is formed in said upper side flat plate portion.5. A cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising: a housingbox housing said cooling panel, hermetically.
 6. An electronic unitcooling device for housing an electronic unit having a plurality ofelectronic parts and for indirectly cooling said electronic unit withcooling air which is introduced from the outside and discharged to theoutside, comprising: a cooling panel of a hollow structure includingupper and lower side flat plate portions for passing the cooling airtherethrough, such that the cooling panel forms a U-shape with a spacebetween the upper and lower side flat plate portions, the cooling airentering through an inlet port of the cooling panel and exiting throughan outlet port of the cooling panel at an area outside of the spacebetween the upper and lower side flat plate portion; and a housing boxhousing said cooling panel and having an opening for passing the coolingair to said cooling panel, said opening accommodating both the inletport and outlet port of the cooling panel.
 7. A cooling device accordingto claim 6, further comprising: an inlet and an outlet formed tocommunicate with the inside of said cooling panel and protruding fromsaid opening to the outside of said housing box; and a seal member forsealing said inlet and outlet and said opening.
 8. A cooling deviceaccording to claim 7, further comprising: a partition disposed in saidcooling panel for defining a passage from said inlet to said outlet. 9.A cooling device according to claim 6, wherein said cooling panelincludes: a first panel unit as the lower side flat plate portion; asecond panel unit as the upper side flat plate portion and arranged at apredetermined spacing on the upper side of said first panel unit; and acommunication passage for providing the communication between said firstpanel unit and said second panel unit.
 10. A cooling device according toclaim 9, further comprising: an inlet and an outlet formed in one ofsaid first panel unit and said second panel unit and communicating withthe inside of one of said panel units, wherein said communicationpassage includes: a first communication passage for passing the coolingair therethrough from said first panel unit to said second panel unit;and a second communication passage for passing the cooling airtherethrough from said second panel unit to said first panel unit.
 11. Acooling device according to claim 6, wherein said housing box includes:a body portion having an upward opening; and a cover member adapted tobe mounted on the opening of said body portion.
 12. An electronic unitcooling device for housing an electronic unit having a plurality ofelectronic parts and for indirectly cooling said electronic unit withthe cooling air which is introduced from the outside and discharged tothe outside, comprising: a cooling panel of a hollow structure forpassing the cooling air therethrough, wherein said cooling panelincludes: a first panel unit; a second panel unit arranged at apredetermined spacing on the upper side of said first panel unit; and acommunication passage for providing the communication between said firstpanel unit and said second panel unit; a housing box housing saidcooling panel and having an opening for passing the cooling air to saidcooling panel; and an inlet and an outlet formed in one of said firstpanel unit and said second panel unit and communicating with the insideof one of said panel units; wherein said communication passage includes:a first communication passage for passing the cooling air therethroughfrom said first panel unit to said second panel unit; and a secondcommunication passage for passing the cooling air therethrough from saidsecond panel unit to said first panel unit.
 13. A cooling deviceaccording to claim 12, further comprising: a partition disposed in eachof said first panel unit and said second panel unit for defining andforming a series of passages leading from said inlet to said outlet. 14.An electronic unit cooling device for housing an electronic unit havinga plurality of electronic parts and for indirectly cooling saidelectronic unit with the cooling air which is introduced from theoutside and discharged to the outside, comprising: a cooling panel of ahollow structure for passing the cooling air therethrough, wherein saidcooling panel includes: a first panel unit; a second panel unit arrangedat a predetermined spacing on the upper side of said first panel unit;and a communication passage for providing the communication between saidfirst panel unit and said second panel unit; a housing box housing saidcooling panel and having an opening for passing the cooling air to saidcooling panel; and an outlet formed in one of said first panel unit andsaid second panel unit and communicating with the inside of one of saidpanel units wherein said inlet and said outlet are protruded from saidopening, further comprising: a seal member for sealing said inlet andoutlet and said opening.
 15. A cooling device according to claim 14,wherein said inlet and said outlet are formed in the side face of one ofsaid panel units and adjacent to each other.
 16. A cooling deviceaccording to claim 14, further comprising: another opening formed insaid housing box for extracting a wire to the outside of said housingbox; and another seal member mounted in said another opening.
 17. Anelectronic unit cooling device for housing an electronic unit having aplurality of electronic parts and for indirectly cooling said electronicunit with the cooling air which is introduced from the outside anddischarged to the outside, comprising: a cooling panel of a hollowstructure for passing the cooling air therethrough, wherein said coolingpanel includes: a first panel unit; a second panel unit arranged at apredetermined spacing on the upper side of said first panel unit; and acommunication passage for providing the communication between said firstpanel unit and said second panel unit; a housing box housing saidcooling panel and said electronic unit having an opening for passing thecooling air to said cooling panel; and a ridge formed all over theperiphery of the opening of said body portion; a groove formed in theopening confronted by said body portion of said cover member for fittingsaid ridge therein; and a seal member arranged in said groove.
 18. Anelectronic unit cooling device for housing an electronic unit having aplurality of electronic parts and for indirectly cooling said electronicunit with cooling air which is introduced from the outside anddischarged to the outside, comprising: a cooling panel of a hollowstructure for passing the cooling air therethrough, the cooling airentering through an inlet port of the cooling panel and exiting throughan outlet port of the cooling panel; and a housing box housing saidcooling panel and having an opening for passing the cooling air to saidcooling panel, said opening accommodating both the inlet port and outletport of the cooling panel; an inlet and an outlet formed to communicatewith the inside of said cooling panel and protruding from said openingto the outside of said housing box; and a seal member for sealing saidinlet and outlet and said opening.
 19. A cooling device according toclaim 18, further comprising: a partition disposed in said cooling panelfor defining a passage from said inlet to said outlet.
 20. An electronicunit cooling device for housing an electronic unit having a plurality ofelectronic parts and for indirectly cooling said electronic unit withcooling air which is introduced from the outside and discharged to theoutside, comprising: a cooling panel of a hollow structure for passingthe cooling air therethrough, the cooling air entering through an inletport of the cooling panel and exiting through an outlet port of thecooling panel; and a housing box housing said cooling panel and havingan opening for passing the cooling air to said cooling panel, saidopening accommodating both the inlet port and outlet port of the coolingpanel; wherein said cooling panel includes: a first panel unit; a secondpanel unit arranged at a predetermined spacing on the upper side of saidfirst panel unit; and a communication passage for providing thecommunication between said first panel unit and said second panel unit;and an inlet and an outlet formed in one of said first panel unit andsaid second panel unit and communicating with the inside of one of saidpanel units, wherein said communication passage includes: a firstcommunication passage for passing the cooling air therethrough from saidfirst panel unit to said second panel unit; and a second communicationpassage for passing the cooling air therethrough from said second panelunit to said first panel unit.
 21. An electronic unit cooling device forhousing an electronic unit having a plurality of electronic parts andfor indirectly cooling said electronic unit with cooling air which isintroduced from the outside and discharged to the outside, comprising: acooling panel of a hollow structure for passing the cooling airtherethrough, the cooling air entering through an inlet port of thecooling panel and exiting through an outlet port of the cooling panel;and a housing box housing said cooling panel and having an opening forpassing the cooling air to said cooling panel, said openingaccommodating both the inlet port and outlet port of the cooling panel;and wherein said housing box includes: a body portion having an upwardopening; and a cover member adapted to be mounted on the opening of saidbody portion.